The present invention relates generally to a heat sink and more particularly to a foil heat sink and a method for fabricating the same.
As an electronic component operates, the electron flow within the component generates heat. If this heat is not removed, or dissipated, the electronic component may not operate correctly and may become damaged. Typically, the heat generated by the electronic component is dissipated by a cooling means, such as an aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) heat sink which absorbs and dissipates the heat via direct air convection. Heat sinks are well known in the electronics industry and are used extensively to dissipate heat generated by electronic components used in computers and various other electronic equipment.
However, improvements in integrated circuit (IC) design and fabrication techniques are allowing IC manufacturers to produce smaller IC devices and other electronic components which operate at increasingly faster speeds and which perform an increasingly higher number of operations. As the operating speed and operational parameters of an electronic component increases, so to does the heat generated by these components. As a result, aluminum (Al) or copper (Cu) heat sinks that use conventional direct air cooling technology, or direct air convection, to dissipate heat are fast approaching the limits of their cooling abilities and it is becoming increasingly difficult to dissipate this increased heat. This is true even for electronic components that were once considered to be a low power technology and as such low heat generators, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor, or CMOS, circuitry.
A foil heat sink comprising: a fin body, wherein the fin body includes a plurality of heat sink fins having a fin head and a fin foot and wherein the plurality of heat sink fins are disposed in a parallel fashion so as to form a plurality of horizontal channels between the plurality of heat sink fins; a fin support, wherein the fin support includes a plurality of fin support structures disposed between the plurality of heat sink fins so as to separate the plurality of heat sink fins and wherein the plurality of fin support structures are disposed adjacent to the fin head so as to form a plurality of vertical channels between the plurality of heat sink fins; and a fin base, wherein the fin base includes a plurality of fin spacers disposed between the plurality of heat sink fins so as to separate the plurality of heat sink fins and wherein the plurality of fin spacers are disposed so as to be adjacent to the fin foot.
A method for fabricating a foil heat sink comprising: obtaining a plurality of fin support structures, a plurality of fin spacers and a plurality of heat sink fins, wherein each the plurality of heat sink fins include a fin head and a fin foot; arranging the plurality of fin support structures, the plurality of fin spacers and the plurality of heat sink fins so as to create a heat sink arrangement wherein the plurality of heat sink fins are disposed parallel with each other and wherein the plurality of fin spacers are disposed between the plurality of heat sink fins so as to be adjacent to the fin foot and wherein the plurality of fin support structures are disposed between the plurality of heat sink fins so as to be adjacent to the fin head; and processing the heat sink arrangement so as to cause the plurality of fin support structures, the plurality of fin spacers and the plurality of heat sink fins to bond together.